Rotary Club food drive concludes record year

The Rotary Club’s December food drive helped raise $14,500 in food and cash.Over three years ago, the Ridgefield Rotary Club — with the help of Stop & Shop on Danbury Road — was able to launch a food drive once a month on Saturday morning. Under the leadership of Barbara Lane, and with the support of Stop & Shop, it quickly grew. Volunteers from the various Ridgefield High School youth organizations joined the initiative, and helped drive even more growth. The Rotary’s December food drive was the most successful in the last two years. The collection resulted in $220 in gift cards, $787 in cash and over $13,500 in food and necessities, for a total of $14,507. “This could not have happened without the support of Ridgefield Stop & Shop Manager David Faccin, Lion’s Heart volunteers Gerri Blair and Doug Hayden, and the other Rotary volunteers,” said Rotary member Joe Savino. For calendar year 2017, the Stop & Shop and Ridgefield Rotary partnership made total contributions to the Ridgefield Food Pantry of $123,939.The first food drive of 2018 will be on Saturday, Jan. 6. “Please help us make 2018 even more successful,” Savino said.To learn more about Ridgefield Rotary, its mission, its people, and upcoming events such as Taste of Ridgefield, visit ridgefieldrotary.org or find it on Facebook.